Legislative Council
SMOKE ALARMS
The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I seek leave to make an explanation
before asking the Minister for Transport and Urban Planning a question about smoke alarms.
Leave granted.
The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: At the launch of Hearing Awareness Week on
Monday, a hearing impaired person raised with me the issue of smoke alarms. In their rush
to come up with an election policy on housing, the Government declared that the
installation of smoke alarms in all houses would become compulsory, but it appears that
the Govern-ment's announcement was not well thought out as it did not take into account
the issue of hearing impairment.
Loss of high frequency hearing is usually the first step in hearing loss, and smoke
alarms are pitched at a high frequen-cy, so these people are already at a disadvantage.
When a hearing impaired person goes to bed that disadvantage is increased as any hearing
aids that are normally in use are most likely put aside on the bedside table. It is a
costly exercise for someone to install a smoke alarm in their home when it will serve no
purpose. It was suggested to me by this person that the activation of a flashing light
would be a more effective method. My questions are:
1. Has the Government investigated alternative ways of alerting hearing impaired
people to the danger of fire in their home and what is the cost differential between the
standard smoke alarm and the one that would be more likely to alert a hearing impaired
person?
2. Given that many hearing impaired people live in Housing Trust accommodation, what
steps is the Housing Trust taking to ensure that such people have an appropriate smoke
alarm system in place?
3. Will the Government consider giving an exemption to hearing impaired people from
the requirement to install smoke alarms or subsidise the extra cost for a suitable alarm?
The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: I thank the honourable member for her
question regarding smoke alarms, in particular
The Hon. Diana Laidlaw interjecting:
The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: No, and indeed the Minister for Planning has
already published very useful information on the Planning Act requirements for the
provision of smoke alarms in new and existing dwellings. An examination being undertaken
by the Disability Services Office is addressing the issues to which the honourable member
has referred in her question. With regard to the provision of smoke alarms for the hearing
impaired in the Housing Trust sector, I am aware that an examination is also being
conducted elsewhere in the Department of Human Services on that issue. I do not have the
precise status of those inquiries at the moment, but I will undertake to make inquiries
and bring back a complete reply.
Also I am reminded by my colleague the Minister for Transport that the honourable
member's suggestion that the Government's policy at the time of the last election to
introduce smoke alarms was not an ill-considered and hasty policy, but was a well
considered, thought out and very positive and popular policy. It was the first occasion on
which any Government of this State had ever addressed this important issue.